


I, Will Byers, Am A Hero

by WillByersFan



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, POV Mike Wheeler, POV Will Byers, Siblings Will Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, Will Byers & Mike Wheeler Friendship, Will Byers Has Powers, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28616652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillByersFan/pseuds/WillByersFan
Summary: A few months have passed since the conclusion of I, Will Byers, Am Not A Victim. It is April of 1985. I suggest reading that if you first if you haven't done so already. https://archiveofourown.org/works/25131688/chapters/60891046This is after that story but before the events of season 3. This will include some elements of the third season, but will not be a season 3 rewrite. Mike and Will are doing well adjusting to normal life after all the insanity they had been through for the last couple of years. All that changes when Nancy goes missing and Mike learns a little more than he wants to know about Will's past trauma and it's up to Will, El, and the others to bring him back to his old self and close the gate before it's too late.This story will switch back and forth between Mike and Will's perspectives.
Relationships: Holly Wheeler & Mike Wheeler & Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers/Will Byers, Joyce Byers & Will Byers, Karen Wheeler & Mike Wheeler, Mike Wheeler & Nancy Wheeler, Will Byers & Eleven | Jane & Dustin Henderson & Maxine Mayfield & Lucas Sinclair & Mike Wheeler, Will Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, Will Byers & Mike Wheeler
Kudos: 10





	1. Next Spring (Mike)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [teej_318](https://archiveofourown.org/users/teej_318/gifts), [AmyP91402](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmyP91402/gifts).



April 1985

Mike Wheeler’s POV

It’s been several months since Will escaped the clutches of Dr. Brenner and saved us all from the creatures of the Upside Down. For once, things have been peaceful in the small town of Hawkins. The gate to the Upside Down is still open, but we haven’t seen any Demogorgons, Demo-dogs, or any evil scientists since Will, El, and all the heroes of Hawkins chased them away in addition to Will taking down their leader. We still think about it from time to time, but without knowing where the gate is, there’s nothing we can do, and as far as we know, nobody is in danger anymore.

My relationship with El has grown since she came back. Our time together is limited since she must stay hidden in case one of the “bad men” is still out there. Hopper makes sure we keep the door open at least three inches, but I’m happy to accept any condition that allows us to be together. I’ve introduced her to some of my favorite music and comics and we have had the chance to watch a lot of movies together. Sometimes, we really enjoy the movie, but other times, we’re too focused on making out to know what’s going on, but that’s certainly not a bad thing.

My friendship with Will is stronger than it has ever been. I was worried that this wouldn’t be the case because of how I treated him when I thought that he and El had been having a romantic relationship behind my back. I should have known that they would never betray me like that, but when I saw them meeting each other without telling me about it, I was so angry that I snapped at him and pushed him down the ground without giving him a chance to explain himself. I replay that moment in my head quite frequently, and I am still ashamed of myself. He has forgiven me, but I haven’t quite forgiven myself. Nonetheless, things have gone back to the way they were before all the craziness that occurred when he went missing about a year and a half ago and after that. We’re inseparable, and that’s the way we like it. Much of our time spent together includes our other friends, Dustin, Lucas, and El, but there are also times when it’s just us as well.

I don’t remember how this happened, but I have always been the unofficial leader of the party. I was usually the one that organized the Dungeons and Dragon campaigns and played Dungeon Master, and I was the one that would normally choose what the group does. I’m open to suggestions, but they usually just go with whatever I want to do.

After what Will did for us, all of Hawkins, and maybe the entire world last year, I don’t feel like I deserve it anymore. He’s the only person I know of that could survive a week in the Upside Down, almost a year’s worth of episodes of flashing back and forth from the place, being possessed by the Mind Flayer, crazy new powers, and a fight with some of the most vicious, terrifying creatures anyone could imagine. Whenever I tell him that, he says that it’s no big deal, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s just like him, though, selling himself short.

Despite this, I have noticed a change in him. He’s stronger and more confident than he had ever been before. He has the power of telekinesis and the ability to reach out to people far away using sensory deprivation, just like El, but unlike her, he only uses them when he needs to. Sometimes, when we spend time together, I forget that he even has those powers, but when I look at him, I know that he doesn’t even need them. Many people have told me that they admire my confidence, but the truth is, I’m nowhere near as much so as he is, and to me, that’s a good thing.

After an unusually harsh winter in Hawkins, spring is finally upon us, and my time as a middle school student is coming to an end, as is the case for my friends as well. Not only that, but a new mall will open its doors for the first time tomorrow. It’s called Starcourt Mall, and I’ve heard of all the fun things you can do there. My friends and I plan on checking it out.

The party and I are excited about going there, especially because there is a new movie we all plan on seeing together, and we can even get in for free because our friend, Steve, got a job there at _Scoops Ahoy!_ and can let us in through the backdoor. Even El can join us since the group is so large. It’s going to be great having the whole party together in one place!


	2. Next Spring (Will)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is Will's perspective and mindset the spring after the last story.

Will’s POV

A few months have passed since the town of Hawkins has been in danger because of the Upside Down. The gate is still open, but no one has dealt with or even seen those creatures since I took down Dr. Brenner, so we’ve decided not to worry about it, especially since we don’t even know where the gate is this time.

I am probably the happiest of the group about this. After my trauma in the Upside Down, possessed by the Mind Flayer, and learning how to control my new powers to fight the invasion, it’s the first chance I’ve had to relax after all this. I know some people would kill to have these abilities, but all I’ve wanted was to be safe with my family and friends.

So many people have complimented me on what I’ve done. I appreciate their kind words, but I am ready to move on. As glad as I am that I conquered my fears and faced my demons, I would rather leave those bad memories in the past. All I need right now are my mom, my brother, and my closest friends, which now include Max and El, and I’m happy. I want them to know that I no longer feel like I’m on the verge of a breakdown like I was before. Even though I dealt with more than most people could even imagine, I just want to be Will Byers, the kind, soft-spoken artist, the cleric of Dungeons and Dragons, artist, and friend.

Another reason I don’t like talking about what happened last fall is that I am ashamed of myself. I know it sounds silly to some people, but I can’t help feeling guilty for almost killing a man. Even though Dr. Brenner was a sick, evil man that hurt and killed many people, I have trouble dealing with the very real possibility that if Hopper hadn’t arrived when he did, I would have killed him. Mike, Jonathan, and my mom all assure me that I’m a good person and that nothing would have changed that, but it still weighs heavily on my mind.

Despite my reluctance to think about what happened during that period, I still practice using my powers from time to time. It’s not as frequent as it was before, but El and I still see each other and help develop each other’s powers. I would rather not have to use them, but with everything that happened over the last year and a half, I figure it’s better to be prepared since it’s impossible to tell what might come next.

Tomorrow is a big day for the town of Hawkins. It’s the day that Starcourt Mall opens. I agreed to meet with the party there, but only because I want to see them. To be honest, I’m not always up for going out and trying something new, especially because the movie we’re watching is a horror movie and I’m a little scared of them, but I’ll deal with it because I know I will have a good time with everyone.


	3. Grand Opening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike and El meet the others at StarCourt Mall.

Mike’s POV

Before meeting everyone at the mall, El and I had time to spend together first, and we were doing one of our favorite things, making out. As is normally the case, we weren’t alone; Hopper, who is now her adoptive dad, was in the next room.

“Hey!” a loud voice shouted. “What have I told you about the door? Keep it open three inches!” El rolled her eyes as she did what he asked with her mind. We went back to making out, but with him staring at us, it just wasn’t didn’t feel right. Hopper and I are on better terms, but he still gives me dirty looks, like I’m not good enough for her. It’s like how my dad used to look at Steve and Jonathan with Nancy, so I guess it’s just how dads are with anyone who dates their daughter.

“Wait!” she shouted as we broke apart. “What time is it?”

“About 1:45,” I answer casually. “Why?”

“One four five,” she said back to me. “Aren’t we meeting our friends at one four five?”

“Oh shit!” I panic. “We lost track of time. The movie starts soon, and they’ll be pissed at us for being late. We have to go now.” She nodded and we ran out to my bike.

“Where are you kids going?” Hopper questioned.

“Dad, we’re meeting our friends at the mall,” she responded, sounding mildly annoyed. “I told you about that yesterday.”

“Oh right,” he responded. “Just don’t stay out too late and keep your eye out for anyone looking suspicious. I’m still not crazy about putting you at risk like this.”

“Don’t worry Dad,” she said back. “We won’t stay real long after the movie.”

He nodded as we went to my bike. She has her own bike and is learning how to ride it, but she doesn’t feel confident enough to make that trip, especially since we’re running late. So, she rode on the back of my bike, not that either of us minded being so close to each other.

I rode quickly, but not too fast since I didn’t want to risk falling and hurting her. I didn’t care if I got hurt since I’ve fallen countless times, but I wasn’t going to risk anything happening to her.

As expected, everyone else was already waiting for us and looking quite annoyed that we were late.

“It took you long enough,” Dustin remarked as soon as we arrived.

“You two were too busy making out that you lost track of time, didn’t you?” Lucas responded, giggling a little as Max made kissing noises. I could see El’s face getting red as did mine.

“Well, we’re wasting time waiting here, so let’s go,” I say back, clearly embarrassed, trying to get out of this awkward conversation. We then proceeded to rush to Scoops Ahoy for Steve to let us in.

“On the first day? Seriously?” he asked. He then sighed and opened the door for us to go in. “Come on. Come on. I swear if anyone hears about this- “

“We’re dead,” we all respond in unison.

“I know,” I say as we head in. “Thanks.”


	4. Day Of The Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party goes to see "Day of the Dead." Will has some unexpected reactions.

Will’s POV

I should have expected Mike to be late since that is usually the case when he’s with El. I didn’t want to tell him this, but I had arrived much earlier than everyone to meet up with him earlier. He probably didn’t have his radio on while he was with her. I was on my feet for so long that one of my legs was starting to hurt. At the time, I thought that was the reason for my leg pains, but I would learn later that that wasn’t true.

The movie we came to see is called “Day of the Dead,” which is a horror movie about a zombie apocalypse. I don’t know what the rating was, but with all the violence and gore, we might not have been able to buy tickets to see it at our age. I wasn’t thrilled about seeing a movie like that, but I didn’t want to seem like a wuss or ruin anyone’s fun since they were so thrilled to see it.

I used to enjoy horror movies. I enjoyed watching Poltergeist with my mom three years earlier, but this was different. Not only was it less gory, but it was because I saw it before experiencing real-life horror.

When I was in The Upside Down, I saw real dead bodies and heard real screams from real people. I even saw a man that got stuck there when he was hunting. Even though he was bigger, older, and stronger than me, he was just as scared as I was. Even at my young age, I could see that his wounds were too severe and that he would die soon. For his sake, I assured him that we would both be okay. He seemed relieved and said, “good” before dying. I figured that if he were to die anyway, he could at least do so with hope. I wish I could have helped him, but there was nothing I could do.

When I was captured, unable to move and with a vine down my throat, I saw numerous dead bodies. Some were fresh and others had been there a while. If I could breathe, I’m sure it would have smelled terrible. The worst part of seeing them was looking into their dead eyes and seeing what used to be human. Before I blacked out, I swear I could hear them speaking to me, telling me that I belong there, that this was my home, and that I could never leave.

My mind continued to play tricks on me after I was rescued. When I first saw my mom and brother, I saw them as zombies. I don’t know if I was hallucinating or if the chemicals from that awful place messed with my brain, but I know what I saw, even if it were only a brief second. As happy and relieved as I was to be out of that place and with my loved ones, the image of them as zombies and the dead, staring eyes of the corpses will always stick with me.

I don’t think anyone, except for Eleven, would ever fully understand what it was like for me there, and I didn’t even bother telling anyone about it, but seeing this movie with zombies brought back those mental images, and I wished I could be watching anything but that, but I couldn’t tell anyone. The last thing I wanted was to give them a reason to treat me like I’m broken.

Early in the movie, I felt goosebumps on the back of my neck. I was hoping that I got them because I was afraid of the movie and I spent some time convincing myself of that, but I would learn later that it wasn’t the case. As he always does, even in a dark theater, Mike noticed me reaching the back of my neck.

“Will, are you okay?” Mike asked me with a look of concern on his face as he leaned over.

“…Yeah,” I said back as I hesitated. I wasn’t totally okay; I was just a little uncomfortable.

“Are you sure?” he asked, sounding unconvinced.

“Of course,” I responded after a moment. I figured that the movie would be over soon enough and that the goosebumps on the back of my neck were probably nothing to worry about.

The movie continued to make me uncomfortable. There were a lot more frightening scenes than I initially expected, and the zombies gave me a constant reminder of The Upside Down. I also remember seeing those images when the Mind Flayer was inside of me. What I referred to as “now memories” vanished as soon as I was freed from him, but I still remember seeing those gruesome images.

I couldn’t exactly blame my friends for wanting to see this movie. There was a lot of action and gore, and I probably would have enjoyed it a couple of years ago, but I never told them about my visions, and I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted them to know what I had seen.

There was one scene that bothered me more than any others. It wasn’t even one of the gory or scary scenes, but it stuck with me more than any others. It involved a woman using a syringe on a man with a sedative. The man was sleep-deprived and needed it but was resistant to taking it and getting violent. The woman hugged the man, injecting him with it against his will. At the time, I didn’t understand why it bothered me so much, but it did. For maybe half a minute, my breaths became short and panicked and I was becoming nauseous. Fortunately, the moment soon passed, but I would learn in a few days its significance.

Nobody noticed my almost-panic attack since they were too entranced by what was going on in the movie. I chose to keep this information to myself. I figured that maybe horror movies weren’t my thing and there was nothing to worry about.

As we were leaving the theatre, I noticed my leg was hurting again. This hadn’t been the case while the movie was going on, but I brushed it off as a cramp since I was sitting there for so long.

“That was awesome!” Lucas yelled in enthusiasm.

“Did you see that guy’s decapitated head? That was sick!” Dustin replied, matching Lucas’s tone. Max and El looked at each other, rolling their eyes and giggling over their reaction.

“Those zombies were lucky they didn’t have to fight El,” Mike remarked. “That movie would have been over in five minutes.”

“Will, come on,” Dustin said to me, playfully pushing. “You look bored, but I know you loved it. Right? Right?!”

“Yeah. Sure.” I responded with a smile. I was happy some people enjoyed the movie and was not going to ruin it for my friends.

“Hey, did you all hear that it’s going to be 82 degrees tomorrow?” Lucas spoke up, changing the subject. “We _have_ to go swimming in the quarry.”

“What?!” Max yelled. “Are you crazy? It’s going to be freezing in there!”

“I know,” Lucas replied. “It’s going to be _amazing_. We’ve done this every year and it’s always been awesome!”  
“Hell yeah!” Dustin yelled in enthusiasm. “Why don’t you girls come with us?”

“Ugh,” Max groaned. “You boys are so stupid, but I won’t pass up the chance to see you making fools out of yourselves, so I’ll be there. I’m sure as hell not going in though.”

There was indeed a time where we did this every year, but I was surprised they still wanted to do it. After all, we didn’t do it last year and I figured that they would want to avoid the area altogether after finding what they thought was my corpse there. I was okay with doing it though. Even then, it’s not like I could ever say no to what my friends wanted to do anyway, but at least it was better than seeing that movie. There was just one thing that I was worried about though, but I would have to deal with it sooner or later.


	5. Day Of The Dead (Mike)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike sees the movie with his friends and worries about Will's condition and what Hopper thinks of him. The party also makes plans for the next day.

Mike’s POV

Despite El and I losing track of time and our friends giving us a hard time about it, we made it to the theater in time, which I was grateful for because my friends would have given us even more grief if they had missed the start. When we were seated, Will was on one side and El was on the other.

The movie started and everything seemed normal, but for some reason, something felt off about Will. He didn’t say or do anything that made me worried, but he kept to himself, not saying much of anything or even making eye contact. This is usually how he presents himself in school, but when he’s with us, he’s a lot peppier. I was surprised that no one else noticed but figured that maybe I was overthinking things.

I brushed it off as no big deal, but as the movie went on, he seemed to be even less comfortable, which, as always, made me worry even more. I paid some attention to the movie while continuing to look over at him, wondering what, if anything, was going on.

It dawned on me later that I never asked him how he felt about seeing Day of the Dead. We had watched some horror movies together before without any issues, but this was more intense than anything we had seen before and the first time we watched anything scary since his issues with the Upside Down. I was angry with myself for being thoughtless again and putting him in such an uncomfortable situation. The group rarely ever shot down any of my suggestions, and I don’t think Will ever did.

There are sometimes that I can be selfish. I know that, but I don’t usually realize that I’m doing something selfish until it’s already done. I had been trying to work on it, but it’s just natural to me to think before acting. This has served me well in some cases, like rounding up Dustin and Lucas to look for Will because it allowed us to meet Eleven, and if we hadn’t done so, he might not have been found.

After he started reaching for the back of his neck, which is a sign that usually means trouble, I had to make sure everything was okay. I didn’t want to push him too hard, but with everything that happened to him in recent years, I wasn’t going to take any chances.

“Will, are you okay?” I asked as I leaned over to him.

“…yeah,” he responded after a moment as if he were coming out of a trance. The theater was dark, but there was something about his eyes that just didn’t look right.

“Are you sure?” I asked again.

“…of course,” he responded after showing the same level of hesitation. I wasn’t sure if he was really alright or if he just didn’t want to talk about what was really on his mind, but I figured it was best to leave him alone and watch the rest of the movie.

Throughout our friendship, I had always looked out for him, and that became even more true after he first went missing. He was always one of the smallest kids in school and the target of bullies like Troy and James. They went after me too, and as much as I hated when they did that, I hated it even more when they went after him. I couldn’t do much to help him, but I think being there and standing up for him was helpful. He did the same for me as well. It’s strange how neither of us could stand up for ourselves but wouldn’t hesitate to stand up for each other.

I thought that maybe I was overreacting to his discomfort and forced myself to enjoy the movie. After all, it’s not like anything in the movie could do any more than scare him a little bit, and I knew that El was enjoying the time we spent together. I thought she was fearless, but she jumped at most of the frightening scenes and buried her head into my chest. Knowing her, she probably faked it so she could get close to me, not that I minded.

The movie was alright, but nothing great. As we walked out, Lucas and Dustin carried on about how awesome they thought it was, mostly because of the gore. We then discussed meeting at the quarry the following day.

We used to swim in the quarry every spring whenever the temperature would go over 80 degrees. The water would still be freezing, but it was always worth it. We never missed this tradition until last year, which would have been the first time doing it after seeing what we thought was Will’s dead body recovered. Of course, we would learn later that the body was a fake and that Will was alive, but I didn’t think any of us would want to go anywhere near that place after that.

In 1984, when that time of year came around, not only did we not continue the tradition, but we didn’t even mention it, probably because no one wanted to bring it up. The body was fake, but the trauma was real, and it still hurts all of us even thinking about him being dead. Therefore, I was surprised that Dustin and Lucas wanted to do it this year. I figured that if it didn’t bother Will, it didn’t bother me, and with our new friends, Max and El, joining us, it would be fun.

El and I said our goodbyes to our friends then headed back to Hopper’s cabin on my bike. We enjoyed each other’s company and didn’t say much, but that is sometimes how it is with her. It’s good knowing that we don’t have to fill up every moment with unnecessary conversation. I had hoped that we would be able to make out for a little while before going back home, but Hopper was seated at his porch smoking a cigarette, looking a little annoyed. I don’t know if he was annoyed because of his job or because El and I were gone for longer than we said we’d be, but I didn’t want to take any chances.

“Welcome back,” Hopper said stoically as he continued to smoke his cigarette.

“Oh, hi Hopper,” I responded, sounding a little nervous.

“It’s getting late,” Hopper said to El in the same stoic tone. “Come on inside.”

“Thanks for the movie,” El said to me as we shared a quick kiss. “It was fun.”

“Fun?” I asked with a grin. “It seemed like it scared you. You were clinging to me the entire movie. Maybe you just wanted to be close to me.”

“Bye Mike,” she said, chuckling as she went inside with Hopper. The daylight was fading fast, and I knew my mom would be angry with me if I rode in the dark, so I headed back home.

As I was riding my bike, I was deep in thought, wondering what Hopper really thought of me. Ultimately, it would be up to him whether El and I can go on dates or even be together, so I had to be sure I was in his good graces. It was difficult to tell where I stood since there were times where he would be friendly, but other times like what I had just seen where he showed no emotion whatsoever. I never knew which Hopper would show up every time I visited, so I didn’t know what to think.

I also thought about what happened with Will. Was he really alright or was something else going on? Maybe I was overthinking it, but maybe not. Unfortunately, the one person that’s good to talk to about these things, my mom, was not an option. She knew we were headed to watch a movie, but she didn’t know which movie it was or that Steve was letting us in for free, so I couldn’t tell her about my dilemma without admitting what I had done. I decided to just play it by ear. If something were wrong, he would tell me when he was ready.

I arrived home before dark and before dinner, so I dodged the lecture. My mom asked me questions about how things went, but I managed to tell her enough to satisfy her curiosity but not enough to get myself in trouble. My friends and I had a big day planned, and I didn’t want to do anything to ruin it.


	6. Scars of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will is excited about meeting his friends at the quarry, but there is something he is apprehensive about. He and Joyce have a heart-to-heart.

Will’s POV

I slept well that night. Even though I had some issues with the movie that we saw, it was a fun day. It was cool seeing the new mall and hanging out with my friends, just like always. We hadn’t had the chance to do something like that in a while, so I probably would have gone along with practically anything if I got to do it with them. I was even looking forward to heading over to the quarry the next day, but there was something that was bothering me, and that morning, my mother could see it.

“Good morning, sweetie,” Mom said to me with a smile while I came down for breakfast. “Jonathan had to work an early shift, so I made breakfast. I think you’ll like it, it’s….” She stopped what she was saying mid-sentence as she looked at me.

“Honey?” she asked with that sound of concern in her voice I had become so used to over the past few years.

“Oh, hey Mom,” I responded as if I were coming out of a trance.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “I know that look. Did something bad happen last night? Did something happen while you were with your friends?”

“No. Not really,” I responded. “We saw a scary movie, but it wasn’t too bad. We’re hanging out tomorrow at the quarry.”

“Oh,” she responded. “I thought you guys weren’t doing that any more after… well never mind. Just stay safe, okay. Don’t go too deep, and don’t go in unless you really want to.”

“Sure,” I said I sat down and started eating.

“That’s…not what’s bothering you, is it?” She asked as she did the same. “Do you want to tell me what’s on your mind?” She had given me a little more space recently, acknowledging that I would talk to her if I needed to, but needed some independence as well. I don’t blame her at all for being so protective of me after what I had been through.

“I guess,” I responded tentatively. “Maybe I’m just being self-conscious, but it’s on my mind.

“If it’s on your mind, it’s important,” she reassured me.

“Well,” I hesitated. “This will be the first time any of my friends see me with my shirt off since my…. uh…issues last fall, and I don’t know how to explain this scar.” I lifted my shirt a little, showing her the scar that I got while she was burning the Mind Flayer out of me.

“Oh,” she responded as she put her hand over her mouth. “Is that from…” I quickly nodded, knowing what she was going to ask.

“I don’t want to have that conversation with my friends, especially Mike,” I responded with my head down. “I don’t want to tell him that his sister poked me with a fire rod to stop me from choking you. It’ll kill the mood and make everyone uncomfortable.”

“Try not to worry about it,” she said optimistically. “It’s just a scar. He'll understand if he doesn't already know about it that is. Nancy was really shaken up doing that. It wouldn't surprise me if she told him. The poor girl was a mess that night...”

“I didn’t even think about how it must have felt for her,” I responded. “I remember seeing Jonathan so upset, thinking I was going to die. I wanted to tell him that it was okay. When Nancy poked me, I was never so happy to feel pain if that makes sense.”

“When I realized what I had to do to get that...thing out of you it broke my heart,” she responded, with her voice cracking. “You were screaming, Jonathan was crying, begging me to stop. I'm not sure how much longer I could have gone on for if Nancy hadn't done what she did. I'll always be grateful to her.... a lot of people helped save you and the town that night...I...I... remember it like it was yesterday.”

“I’m lucky to have such a strong mother and so many people that care so much about me,” I said back as I smiled softly.

“Don’t sell yourself short, honey,” she responded as she smiled back. “You’re so strong and brave. You’ve always been, even before your powers developed. I don’t know of anyone that would have thought of using Morse Code to tell us how to defeat that monster. I’m so proud of you. I’ve always been.”

I got up and hugged her, with one tear going down my face. I had always known those things to be true, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like to hear it occasionally. The moment was broken up by the sound of my walkie-talkie.

“Will, where are you?” Mike’s voice came through.

“Get your ass over here!” Dustin yelled.

“We’re waiting for you. How long are you going to make us wait, slowpoke?” Max’s voice came booming through.

“It’ll be totally tubular when you get here,” Lucas remarked, making me chuckle.

“Oh God, stop saying that! Nobody says it except for you!” Max yelled at Lucas. “Please hurry, Will. Don’t leave me alone with them!”

“I’m coming,” I responded with a laugh. “I’ll be there soon.”

“Honey, do you need a ride?” Mom asked me. “I need to go to work, but I can drop you off on the way. We can take your bike, but make sure one of your friends goes home with you. I know you have superpowers now, but none of us can handle another disappearance.”

“Sure Mom,” I responded. “Don’t worry. Mike will probably want to come here for a little while anyway.” As much as he liked spending time with El, he still showed concern for me, not letting me do much on my own. I think that he, along with my mom, knows that I can handle myself after the events that transpired a few months ago but doesn’t want to take any chances. Some kids my age would probably roll their eyes over their mom and friends acting like this, but I’m not like most kids. This was their way of showing that they care, and I would prefer that over them not caring. I changed into my bathing suit and got everything I needed. This was going to be a fun trip.


	7. Heart to Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike has some apprehension about his meeting at the quarry with friends and he talks to El.

Mike’s POV

The night before meeting at the quarry

At dinner, I decided I needed to let my mom know about my plans for the next day. I considered lying and making something up, but I was tired of lying and constantly worrying about whether she’d learn the truth. I was also tired of getting punished all the time and not being trusted, so I figured it wasn’t worth it this time.

To be honest, I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of meeting there again, so it would have been okay if she said no. I know I should have just been honest with my friends, but I didn’t want to tell them the truth: that whenever I pass the area, I relive Will’s “dead body” getting retrieved and all the pain and anguish that came with it.

I don’t know if any of them feel the same way and I didn’t even consider that possibility, but this was not something I was willing to admit. This feeling made no sense to me. In the end, Will wasn’t dead and the body was fake, so I should have been over it, but I wasn’t. Perhaps, I thought, this would be good for me and would help me get over it.

“So, Mom, the party and I are going swimming at the quarry tomorrow,” I nonchalantly told her at the dinner table.

“Seriously?” Nancy interrupted. “You’re still doing that? You’re out of your minds.” She rolled her eyes.

“Oh, hi Nancy. I didn’t see you there. I didn’t recognize you without Jonathan’s tongue down your throat,” I retorted.

“Michael!” Mom yelled. The room went silent, then we all continued eating. “Don’t you have a science project due next week?”

“Yeah?” I responded. “And?”

“Have you even started on it?” she asked.

“I’ll get started soon,” I argued.

“Get started tonight,” she nagged. “You’re going into high school next year and your grades are really important. You can’t just glide by on this.”

“Fine,” I stated.

“If you get a good start tonight, you can see your friends tomorrow,” she said, which surprised me after what she had said previously. “If you need any help, I’m right here.” I nodded in agreement.

“Listen to your mother,” Dad chimed in. “I know your friends mean a lot to you, but it’s more important to get good grades. This is your future we’re talking about.”

I rolled my eyes in response. I already agreed to start on my project and didn’t need to hear the same lecture twice. It’s not like he had anything new to add anyway, but that’s always been the case with him: agreeing with whatever my mother said.

Later that night, I grabbed everything I needed for my science project and got started. I didn’t mind working on the project; Mr. Clarke is a great teacher, and his projects are usually fun. I was just annoyed because my parents were nagging me about it like I was still a little kid.

After getting a good start on my project, I contacted El, using my walkie-talkie. This was the best way of communicating since the phone-lines at my house were usually occupied thanks to my mother or Nancy.

“El, do you copy,” I spoke into my walkie.

“Hi Mike,” she responded quickly as if she were waiting for me to contact her.

“My mom said yes to us meeting at the quarry tomorrow,” I told her. “Are you in?”

“Am I in what?” she asked, confused. Her language skills had grown exponentially since I first met her, but she didn’t always understand slang.

“Are you coming to the quarry with us?” I rephrased.

“I think so,” she responded. “People. Are there a lot of people there?” She was asking this since there was still a risk of one of the “bad men” finding her.

“Not really,” I responded. “The place is crowded during the summer, but in the past years that we’ve done this, it’s been too cold for most people, so we have the place to ourselves.”

“Dad will probably let me go then,” she responded. “I’m glad. I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” I responded. “I’d like to come over right now, but I’m stuck working on a science project. My mom made it a condition of letting me go tomorrow. I like Mr. Clarke, but school is kind of lame. Ugh.”

“School,” she repeated. “I’d like to go to school. Dad says I might go next year. I wish I could go now.”  
“Really?” I responded, shocked to hear it.

“Yes,” she responded. “Papa didn’t let me learn much. Now I must hide, stuck here. It gets boring and lonely.”

“Oh, right,” I responded. Even though there were times that I hated school, it was better than what she had to go through for the first part of her life. She told me some of what it was like in that awful lab in our past conversations, but I can’t even imagine what it was like for her, being treated like a test subject. I felt like a jerk, complaining about school when she had it so much worse. Even now, it must be rough staying in one place for so long. Hopper is a good dad to her, but he works long hours, leaving her by herself for long periods.

“So,” I said after a moment, changing the subject. “Did you notice anything strange about Will?” Something had seemed off about him at the mall. Maybe it was the movie we decided to see, but maybe something else was going on.

“Yes,” she responded. “He was limping.”

“Oh,” I responded. “Was he?”  
“Yes,” she responded. “Why was he limping? Is he hurt?”  
“Not that I know of,” I responded. I hadn’t picked up on it at the time, but since she mentioned it, he was walking kind of strange. “Maybe his foot fell asleep or something.”  
“His leg…was sleeping?” she asked, sounding confused.

“It’s something that happens sometimes when a person sits for a long time,” I explained. “It’s like there are a lot of tiny needles sticking you at once. My science teacher says it happens by accident when a person’s blood flow is restricted. The feeling goes away fast. We say that someone’s body part is falling asleep when that happens. It’s probably what happened to him.”

“Okay,” she responded. “Will you swim tomorrow?”  
“Yeah,” I responded. “Are you going in with me?”  
“Maybe,” she responded with a hint of worry in her voice. “Will this be like…the bath?”  
“Not at all,” I assured her. “No weird experiments there. Just swimming and splashing around.”  
“I…can’t swim,” she responded.

“It’s okay,” I assured her. “The water isn’t very deep, and you can hang onto me if you want to.”  
“Okay,” she responded with a giggle. “I’d like that.”

We continued talking for a little while after that, but as it became late, we said our goodbyes and went to bed. I made enough progress on my project to make my mom happy and so that I wouldn’t be overwhelmed when the due date approaches.

I was looking forward to the next day, but I was a little worried as to what might go wrong the next day.


	8. Fun At The Quarry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will meets up with his friends for a swim at the quarry. All seems fine until they see an unexpected visitor.

Will’s POV

As I walked to the car, my leg hurt more than I was willing to admit. I was starting to get worried about it since it had been a few days since I noticed it and wasn’t feeling any better. Still, I didn’t want anyone to notice. Despite my heroic actions a few months ago and proving that I can handle myself, it still felt like everyone treated me as if I could break down at any moment. It’s great that they care so much, but what I wanted was to leave all that unpleasantness behind.

“Honey,” Mom said in her normal, caring, but an overly protective voice, “remember, you don’t have to go in. Don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with, and please, don’t hesitate to call me if anything happens.”

“Of course, Mom,” I responded. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little annoyed at being talked to like that. After all, I proved that I could take care of myself several times, but I know she can’t help it. With everything that has happened with my disappearance, possession, and emergence of powers, who could blame her? Besides, I would rather her care too much than care too little anyway, so I let it go, hugging her and joining my friends. My leg still hurt as I put weight on it, but I felt like I hid it well.

“About time you showed up,” Max remarked with a bit of a grin on her face. “They keep saying they’re going in, but chicken out every time they touch the water.”

“Speaking from someone who hasn’t even touched the water,” Lucas snapped back.

“I never said I was going in,” she retorted. “This is all you stupid guys’ idea anyway. I don’t even know why I’m here.”

“It’s because you _love_ him,” Dustin chimed in with a giggle, followed by his growl.

“I thought Steve told you not to do that,” Mike said to Dustin. “He says it makes you sound weird.”

“The ship has sailed on that,” Dustin responded. “Everyone already knows I’m weird.”

“So,” I said, breaking the silence. “Are we doing this or not?”

“Yeah!” Lucas yelled, running towards the water, then pulling back once his feet got wet.

“Give me a break,” I responded as I rolled my eyes. “If you all are too chicken to go in first, then it’ll have to be me.” I took off my shirt and put my stuff down, looking and feeling confident.

“Ahhh!” I screamed as I ran full force into the water, ignoring how ice cold it felt. Unlike Lucas, however, I didn’t pull back or hesitate. I went straight in without a moment of hesitation. “Woooo!” I screamed again.

“Isn’t it cold?” Max asked. “Like really, really cold?”

“Ice cold,” I responded. “But I got in. Are you cowards coming in or not?”

“How the hell did you do that so fast?!” Lucas shouted.

“Just don’t think about it. Come on. Stop being a wuss and get in here!”

“I don’t think so,” Lucas responded.

“Am I going to have to use my powers to drag you in?” I challenged him, sounding surprisingly abrasive.

“Yeah right,” Lucas laughed. “I could see El doing something like that, but not you.” As soon as those words came out of his mouth, I started pulling him closer to the water.

“Holy shit,” Dustin remarked as everyone watched Lucas get pulled closer and closer.

“Do you still think I’m bluffing?” I asked him as I continued to pull.

Lucas tried to remain calm, but as he got close to the water, he admitted it. “Okay okay! I’ll go in. Just give me a minute!”

“Fine,” I said as I let him go. “Mike, Dustin, you two are next if you try to wuss out!”

“Us?!” Dustin yelled. “Not Max or El?”

“Nope,” I replied. “I’ll deal with you all being pissed at me, but not them. I’ve seen what they’re capable of. Do I look stupid to you?”

“Shut up Mike,” I giggled as I saw him preparing a smart-ass response. “Just get in here. Don’t leave me here by myself.” Dustin, Mike, and Lucas all got ready and jumped in soon after I said that, making sure I take on the huge splash they made.

“I can’t believe Will did that,” Max remarked to El, thinking that I was out of earshot. “At least he knows his place. He’d be a dead man if he tried that shit with me.”

“Will’s not stupid,” El replied.

“It’s payback time,” Lucas said to me in a devilish tone.

“For what?” I asked. “Forcing you to have a good time?”

“For using your powers on me,” he responded with a smile.

“Ooh. I’m soooooo scared,” I responded. “What are you going to do, make me cringe by using words like ‘tubular’?”

“Oh no, not that,” he responded with an even bigger smile. “You’re getting dunked.”

“Yeah right,” I rolled my eyes at him. “You’re bigger than me, but I have powers, remember?”

“That’s true,” he responded. “I know you won’t hesitate to use them on me or Dustin, but what about Mike?” I could feel my jaw dropping as he said that. Somehow, he knew that I could never bring myself to do anything like that to him. I thought I had hidden it, but I guess I didn’t hide it that well.

As soon as I turned around, Mike had jumped on me, dunking me underwater. After a few seconds, he lifted me, throwing me hard. I am easily the smallest of the four boys, which must have been why it was so easy for him to do that. Still, though, I was determined to get back at him, so I stayed underwater, hiding, until I was right behind all of them, and gave them all a huge splash at once.

“Hey!” Lucas yelled. I swam away as fast as I could, but he grabbed me and threw me again.

“I’ll get you for that!” I yelled as I quickly swam back. As expected, Lucas reached to grab me again, but suddenly, a giant wave formed, knocking all three of them back. As I looked back to dry land, I saw Max giggling and El wiping the blood from her nose. At that point, it was obvious what she had done.

“Hey, no fair!” Lucas yelled at Max.

“Yeah, you can’t use your powers and not even get in,” Mike followed up.

“Whatever,” Max responded as she rolled her eyes. “We never said we were going in! What did you ex….” She stopped what she was saying immediately, and her eyes grew big. “Oh shit. Oh shit. You guys need to get out right now,” she said in a panicked voice.

“Why should we?” asked Lucas, but then it became clear. We heard voices and one of them was all too familiar; it belonged to Billy: Max’s awful stepbrother that would be angry seeing her hanging out with us.

“It’s Billy,” Mike said as he was the first to recognize his voice. “We can’t let him know we’re here.”

“Yeah, I have to work out three hours a day now,” Billy’s voice was getting louder as he came closer. “Having a body like this isn’t easy you know.” We then heard an unfamiliar female voice giggling. We didn’t know how he’d react if he saw us, but we wanted him to leave. He always brought trouble with him wherever he went.

We all quickly wrapped ourselves in our towels and I found a place in a nearby bush for us all to hide. Luckily, he hadn’t noticed us yet and was still talking to that girl with a cigarette in his mouth. He tried to look as smooth as possible to impress her, but his cigarette flew out of his hands and fell on the ground.

“What the hell?” he questioned as he grabbed another one. This time, the cigarette flew from the pack and lit itself. At this point, we couldn’t help giggling over what El was doing to him.

“Um, that’s not funny,” the woman said, speaking like a valley girl, with her voice going up at the end of her sentence, sounding like a question. “You’re trying to impress me with your stupid magic tracks, but it could have fallen and made a forest fire.” She started walking away with Billy following her, trying to explain that he didn’t do anything wrong.

Once they were out of our vision, we got back in and even convinced Max and El to join us. We didn’t care about how cold the water was at that point. We talked, played games, and enjoyed each other’s company until it started to get dark.

We said our goodbyes, got on our bikes and headed home. Mike went with me to my house. He usually does that if it’s even a little bit dark just as a precaution. I no longer fear being dragged into the Upside Down, but I know he’s still worried that I’ll go missing again, so I go with it. When we arrived, we had that conversation that I had been dreading and hoping to avoid.


	9. The Scar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike noticed a scar on Will's stomach and he asks Will about it. He gets more than he bargained for when he learns that it was his sister that caused it.

Mike’s POV

That whole experience at the quarry was a lot of fun. It was better than I expected, but I thought that we might have overdone it a little with the roughhousing. We had all made sure not to take it too far with Will after what he’s been through, but this time, I was afraid that we hurt him, though he didn’t seem to notice.

“Um. Will, can we talk?” I awkwardly asked him.

“Oh, sure,” he responded, putting his head down. He must have picked up on my negative demeanor, but this is something we needed to talk about either way. This wasn’t just for his sake, but mine. I knew that if I thought I hurt him; it would drive me crazy until I got an answer.

“I’m sorry,” I started. “We didn’t mean to get so rough earlier.”

“What are you talking about?” he questioned. “That was a lot of fun!” His response seemed genuine. Maybe, I thought, he didn’t realize what happened to him.

“Before leaving, I noticed a mark on the lower part of your stomach,” I remarked. “I guess we grabbed you too tight.”

“Oh, this?” Will responded, lifting his shirt, and showing the mark. “I promise that you didn’t cause that. It’s an uh… birthmark.”  
“Will,” I pressed on. “I’ve seen you with your shirt off before. That mark wasn’t there.”

“Mike,” he responded, appearing to get annoyed. “It’s not a big deal.”  
“It is to me,” I pressed on harder. “Is someone hurting you? Is your dad hurting you? Troy? James? Someone else?” He shook his head each time I mentioned a name.

I didn’t enjoy pushing him like this, but I know him well enough to know that if someone did hurt him or is still hurting him, he wouldn’t say anything, not because he doesn’t trust us, but because he still sees himself as a burden.

It’s kind of strange how he stood up to Dr. Brenner and countless creatures from the Upside Down but wouldn’t stand up to his dad or schoolyard bullies. One thing about him is that he still thinks he needs to solve his problems on his own. He might be able to do that, but he doesn’t have to. He’s helped others so many times but has trouble accepting anyone else’s help.

“It’s Nancy!” he pretty much shouted to me. Out of all the people I thought might have hurt him, this came as a shock to me. She and I have had our fights like all siblings, but there was no way I thought she would ever do that to anyone, especially him.

He opened the door and walked inside, trying to close the door behind him, but I caught it. I knew he didn’t want to talk about it, but I had to know more. Why would _she_ hurt him? It made no sense. Soon, I would learn the horrifying reason that he didn’t want to talk about this.

“Mike!” Will whispered to me as we walked in. “Please drop it. I promise that I’m okay.”

“Why would my sister hurt you?” I whispered back. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

“Fine,” he responded. “Come with me to my room and I’ll explain.” I followed him to his room, but I was not ready for what he was about to tell me.

“Mike, your sister didn’t do anything wrong,” Will said as sat down. “She had to do it.”

“I don’t understand,” I responded.

“This isn’t a fresh wound,” he continued. “I got this wound last fall when the Mind Flayer had me. When my mom, Jonathan, and Nancy brought in all those heaters, things didn’t go as smoothly as they had hoped. They tied me down, but, while I was still under his control, I broke through one of my restraints.” I could see him getting more and more upset as he continued. At that point, I deeply regretted pushing the issue.

“I started….to choke my mom,” he went on, with tears forming in his eyes. “I tried so hard to stop him, but I couldn’t do it. I could feel myself choking her, but I couldn’t stop. Nancy grabbed a fire poker and pierced my flesh, causing me to let go. Soon after that, he finally left my body, and I was free. It hurt like hell, but it had to happen.” At this point, tears were freely flowing down his face.

“Please don’t hate Nancy for this,” he begged. “She saved my mom. She saved all of us. She feels awful about hurting me, but there was no other way.”

“I’m sorry,” I responded as I pulled him for a hug. “I’m sorry you went through that and I’m sorry for pressing you to talk about it. Just don’t blame yourself for hurting your mom. It’s the Shadow Monster’s fault, not yours.”

“I know,” he responded as he hugged back, grasping onto me as if his life depended on it. Even after proving his bravery and being a hero several times, he still has some moments where he seems like a scared little boy. After everything he’s been through, he deserves to know that he’s safe and protected. I let him hang onto me for as long as he needed to. When he let go, he had calmed down entirely. I think that hug sent a stronger message than words ever could, and that was exactly what he needed at that moment.

“Are you okay?” I asked as we broke apart.

“Yeah,” he answered with a smile. “I guess I just needed to get that out, but please don’t tell anybody what I told you.”

“No problem,” I smiled back.

I left shortly after that. I was glad to have had that conversation but regretted pushing him like that. I should have known that he would have spoken up if he needed to. He’s proven on more than one occasion that he can take care of himself.

Today was a good day. I’m usually with the party or El, but not both. I know that she must be careful, but it can’t be easy staying hidden all the time. Hopper’s strict, but I’ve come to understand recently that he needs to be. One slip-up could put us in danger again, so we can’t afford to take any chances. This isn’t the normal life that she deserves, but it’s the closest we can get.

After I got home, I got a message on my walkie.

“Mike, do you copy? Over” called Lucas.

“I copy. What’s up? Over” I responded.

“I need you to meet me tomorrow night. It’s super urgent. Over,” he responded.

“What is this about? Over” I asked.

“I can’t say,” he responded. “Someone could be spying on this line. Just be here at 8:00. Over.”

“Is there a reason Will and Dustin aren’t coming? Over.” I asked.

“Yeah, but I can’t say why. Just tell your mom that you’re hanging out at my place and I’ll explain everything. I’ve got to go. Over and out.” He turned his walkie off. I was confused but curious. I was worried about why he needed to meet with me like this, but I would have to wait another day to find out.


	10. Accepting help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will wakes up feeling a horrible pain in his leg and goes to the doctor to have it looked at.

Will’s POV

I didn’t want to have that conversation with Mike about where I got my scar since it forced me to relive that awful night, but after it was done, I was glad it happened. He was looking out for me, as he always does, and he knows that I don’t reach out to anyone when I need help as often as I should.

After proving my strength and bravery through my confrontation with Dr. Brenner a few months ago, I thought that those closest to me would back off a little, but they didn’t, and I’m grateful for that, even if I don’t admit it. Talking to loved ones and asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness. No one, no matter how tough they are, can do everything by themselves, and they help me realize that. Unfortunately, the need would present itself the very next day.

After a fun day at the quarry with my friends, I had no trouble falling asleep and I didn’t have any of the nightmares that still haunted me from time to time, but that was where my good fortune would end. Throughout the night, I would wake up, look at the clock, and go back to sleep several times. Something seemed off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

When the sun rose and I was fully awake, I realized exactly what was wrong; it was my right leg. It was hurting worse than it ever did before. The pain was excruciating. At first, I thought that I had slept on it funny, bruised it, or something like that, but that wasn’t the case.

I got onto my feet, trying to walk it off, but that only made it worse. Each step was more painful than the last, and I couldn’t help but wince every time I put weight on that leg. I knew this wasn’t going away by itself, so I did the only thing I could think of, which was getting to Mom to let her know. Jonathan’s room was nearer, but he was with Nancy for the weekend. I put my weight on everything I could as I traveled from my room to the kitchen, where I could hear Mom making breakfast.

A normally short walk had become long and painful, but I made it in one piece.

“Good morning honey,” she said to me in a cheery voice, totally oblivious to what was going on.

“Mom,” I said to her, trying to hide the agony that I was in as I sat down. “My leg. It hurts. A lot.” She turned around, took one look at my pained face, and rushed over to me.

“Let me take a look,” she said with a lot of concern in her tone. I stretched my leg onto another chair and winced as I rolled up my pant leg. “You look miserable, honey. What happened?”

“I don’t know,” I responded desperately. “It’s been sore for a few days, but not this bad.”

“You know you can always tell me if you’re hurting,” she reminded me as she looked at my leg, pressing down lightly. “Does this hurt?” She pressed down on different areas, but they all hurt, and I nodded every time.

“Stay here,” she told me. “I’ll get you some Tylenol and water.” I did what she asked me to do and she got back to me quickly. I hated that I worried her yet again. It felt like an endless cycle and I was surprised I hadn’t made all her hair turn gray by then.

“Here, take this,” she said as she handed me the Tylenol. “We need to get you to the doctor as soon as possible.”

“No,” I shook my head. “Please no. No doctors.”

“Honey,” she said softly. “We need to get this looked at.”  
“Not again,” I mumbled under my breath. “Last time I was there, they hurt me.” I was utterly terrified of seeing a doctor since my last doctor visits involved Dr. Brenner almost killing me and the crew at Hawkins Lab treating me as a test subject, burning vines from the Upside Down when I was connected to it, then continuing to burn them as I cried out in pain.

“Not the lab,” she assured me as she put her arm around me. “I don’t trust them with anything, and I sure as hell won’t trust them to treat you. I promise that you’ll go a real doctor, and I won’t leave your side unless you want me to.” I nodded back at her, breathing a little easier. What she said brought me some comfort.

The Tylenol gave me enough relief to take a shower, get dressed, and get to the car to have my leg looked at. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of seeing a doctor, but she was right to take me there. This pain wasn’t going to go away on its own and I needed a doctor as much as I didn’t want to admit it. She gave me a reassuring smile and we left. I closed my eyes and tried to relax as best I could for the trip, and before I knew it, we had arrived.

As always, the doctor’s office kept us waiting for some time before anyone could see me.

“Mom,” I got her attention. “Sorry for freaking out earlier. I’ve just had some bad experiences.”  
“Will,” she responded softly. “You don’t ever have to apologize to me. Remember what we’ve talked about with the apologies.”  
“Sor- I mean okay,” I responded, almost apologizing again. “Thanks, Mom.” She smiled back at me. She has always known about my compulsion to make everyone happy, and that’s probably why I apologize so much. Even now, I don’t like to burden people, but she was right.

Eventually, the nurse called us back. She checked my vitals, and everything seemed normal. The doctor came in and looked over my leg, doing some basic tests. He would later motion that he wanted to speak to my mom alone. She assured me that she would be right back. I hated the fact that they felt the need to have this conversation privately. Even though I’m not an adult, it doesn’t mean that I can’t handle whatever it is he has to say to me.

Our visit ended shortly after that and he prescribed me some painkillers. This would only serve as a short-term fix, as she explained to me in the car. When we got home, we would have an important conversation, and I would have another demon that I would need to conquer.

“So, the doctor and I had a conversation,” she explained as we got back home. The pill he had given me numbed the pain in my leg enough to make it tolerable. “He says that he needs to wait for the test results to come back, but you might need to have surgery.” I gulped as those words left her mouth, not because of the surgery itself, but of something that would come with it.

“What kind of s-surgery?” I asked, getting more nervous by the second.

“It’s a fairly simple procedure, he tells me,” she started to explain. “It should only take about an hour to an hour and a half.”

“Would I need to be p-put under?” I asked.

“He says that you would,” she continued to explain. I could feel the color draining from my face and my mouth drying up after she said that. My anxiety levels continued to rise, so much so that I couldn’t even process anything else that she was telling me. I could handle going under the knife, but not being put under. I didn’t want to explain why it made me so nervous either because it would be a difficult and awkward conversation that I wasn’t in the mood to have at that moment.

“We won’t know for sure for a couple of days,” she said as she finished explaining. “Either way, it’s not serious and you’ll make a full recovery, so we can rest easy, okay?”

“Okay,” I responded, still anxious, but unwilling to tell her why. “I’m going to go lie down now.”

“Okay sweetheart,” she responded with a soft smile. “I’ll call you when dinner is ready. Let me know if you plan on seeing any of your friends.” I nodded and headed to my room.

When I got to my room, I just laid down, looking at the ceiling. At that moment, I didn’t want to talk to anybody or do anything. My walkie-talkie was on, but I was hoping that no one would reach out to me, and for once, no one did. I brought myself to read some comics, but all I wanted to do was lie down and do nothing. I was obsessing over the possibility of needing surgery. I knew it wouldn’t be too involved but having it would involve facing some of my past demons, and I didn’t think I’d ever be ready to do that.


	11. Troublemakers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike comes over to Lucas' house to check out what he found but runs into some unexpected trouble.

Mike’s POV

After Lucas gave me that cryptic message, I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly wasn’t prepared for what was about to happen. To make matters worse, we had another surprise waiting for us: his 10-year-old sister and her friend.

The school day was generally uneventful. I spent it going through every possibility in my mind as to what Lucas needed to see me about. I couldn’t imagine what was so important and secretive that he didn’t even want the rest of the party to know about it. Could it be girl trouble? School trouble? Were there men from Hawkins Lab looking for us? I couldn’t focus on anything all day.

I arrived at Lucas’ house ten minutes early, obviously anxious about what was going on. With the events of the past couple of years, you can’t rule anything out. Unfortunately, another problem would present itself before I would get any answers.

“Hello, nerd,” Erica sneered at me as she opened the door.

“Hey nerd!” she screamed behind her. “Your nerd friend is here!” Another girl, who looked to be about her age, snickered as she said that. After a mildly awkward moment, Lucas arrived and let me in.

“Sorry about that,” he said, shaking his head. “We have a bit of a problem. My parents have left and asked me to watch over Erica and her friend, Hope, while they’re gone.”  
“What?!” I asked, shocked and somewhat annoyed that he would call me over for that. “You called me in a panic so I can help you watch your baby sister?”  
“Watch who you’re calling a baby,” Erica jumped in. “I don’t even know why you two are here. We’re 10, not 5, and we don’t need you, nerds, watching us.”

“Believe me,” Lucas responded. “I don’t like this any more than you.”

“I’ll help,” I responded. “But I don’t like how you made this seem like the event of the century.”  
“You’re only saying that because you’ve never had to watch her,” he argued.

“Besides,” he whispered to me. “This isn’t the reason I called you over. I’ll show you what I found, but we can’t let Erica see or we’ll have a much bigger problem.” I nodded as he said those words, still slightly annoyed that we would have to be babysitters for the night, but willing to help him. Erica’s not a bad kid, but she and Lucas always seemed to fight over everything, and I knew that we would be in for a rough night. I’ve seen those fights and I hope that Holly and I don’t get like that when she gets older.

“Uh, Lucas,” I nudged him. “Where did they go?”

“Oh shit,” he responded. “I bet they went for my room.” We quickly dashed to his room, knowing that she and her friend were probably up to something. He guessed correctly, as we saw them sorting through his things while giggling.

“Get out!” he yelled as they ran out, continuing to giggle. This gave us a moment to talk about what he found, but only a moment.

“Check this out,” Lucas motioned for me to follow him. He reached underneath his bed, taking something out. Before he could show it to me, though, we heard a noise. It was the sound of a car engine. It was too early for Lucas’s parents to come back but too loud to be coming from a neighbor’s car.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Lucas said as his eyes got wide. Whatever he was about to grab, he put it back under the bed and dashed out of his room. I followed behind him closely.

“No way,” I said in disbelief. “Did your sister…start the car?”

“I think so,” Lucas remarked as we ran as fast as we could to the car parked in the front yard. Our fears were realized as we saw the lights on and the car running. We didn’t want any part of the game the girls were playing, but we couldn’t risk them getting hurt, so we ran as fast as we could.

“Get out of there!” Lucas shouted.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I followed up.

“Go! Go!” Hope, Erica’s friend, yelled. As soon as Lucas opened the door, Erica slammed her foot down on the accelerator as hard as she could. Fortunately, neither she nor Hope understood anything about putting the car into drive, so it didn’t go anywhere.

“Aw damn it,” Erica sighed as Lucas took the keys out of the ignition and grabbed her. I opened the door on the passenger side, prompting Hope to leave the car as well. This amount of excitement would have been more than enough for one night, but apparently, not for them.

As soon as we got the girls out of the car and took the keys, they took off, nodding at each other, counting down to three, and running back into the woods, screaming and giggling.

“Erica!” screamed Lucas. “Get back here!” As expected, they kept running until they were out of our sight. Lucas told the party stories about the crazy things his sister did, but this went beyond any of our expectations. Not only were the girls not listening to us, but they were doing things that were incredibly stupid and dangerous. This was a rare time where I had ever been speechless.

The sun was already close to setting and it was getting dark, so we went inside, grabbed a couple of flashlights, and went into the woods after them, hoping that we would find them soon.

“Erica!” I screamed.

“Erica!” Lucas screamed as well. We got no answers, of course, but we had to try.

“This is insane,” I commented. “Why would they even want to run around here after dark?”

“To get back at me,” he responded. “Whenever she gets a chance to mess with me, she takes full advantage of it.” We searched deeper into the woods, flashing our lights, hoping to see some signs of one of the girls, but we kept coming up empty.

“This is like our times looking for Will,” I mentioned. “At least he wanted to be found.”

“Today tops it all off,” Lucas sighed. “I’m never babysitting her ever again. I don’t care what my parents say.”  
“It does make me think,” I responded. “When we were on the run from the law. I wonder if this is how Nancy felt. I was so focused on protecting El and finding Will that I didn’t even think about how I was affecting her and my mom.”

“It’s not like you meant for any of that to happen,” Lucas assured me. “We all care about Will and there was no way in hell that anyone was going to keep us from doing everything we could to find him. The El situation complicated things even more, but the point is that our hearts were in the right place. We were doing this to protect one friend and find another. Erica and Hope are doing this to get back at me.”

“I think she’s safe,” I told him as I could sense the worry in his voice. “As stupid and reckless as she’s been, she’s pretty tough. She has a friend with her, so she’s not alone, and I don’t think she’d get herself lost.”  
“Speaking of getting lost,” Lucas responded. “Which way did we come from?”

“You are joking,” I answered. “Right?” To my horror, he shook his head. It was pitch black at this point, and everything in the area looked the same. We continued searching the area, looking for our way out and hoping to run into the girls.

I don’t know how long we roamed around the area, but we finally did find our way back, but without the girls. We knew that our search wasn’t going to do any good, especially if they were hiding from us, so I figured that I would suggest asking El to find her for us.

When we returned, we found that it would not be necessary, as the girls were inside, giggling.

“You nerds suck,” Erica sneered at us. “I knew we could make you run around the woods like that.”

“How long have you been back?” Lucas asked, clearly annoyed at her.

“We came back inside as soon as we saw you two,” she replied. “I made a bet with Hope that you wouldn’t notice for over an hour, but you came back in 53 minutes. Couldn’t you nerds have looked for a little longer?” She then handed over a dollar bill to Hope.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked her. “You started a car and ran into the woods? Why would you do that?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “It was fun.”

“Fun?!” Lucas yelled at her. “You could have been killed!”

“Relax, nerd,” she responded with the same level of sass that she had all night. “There are no dangerous animals out there.”  
“What about starting the car?” I asked.

“What?” she responded innocently. “I knew it was in park when I hit the gas. I’m not stupid. Pfft.”

“Can you two stay out of trouble for five minutes? Please?” begged Lucas.

“Oh, we’re done,” Hope chimed in. “We’re out of ideas. Watching the two of you chasing your tails for all that time was well worth it.” I was furious at them and I could tell that Lucas was beyond livid, but we were thankful it was over, and we took their word that they would stay out of trouble.

Even though we were exhausted and extremely pissed off over what happened, I still had to know what Lucas wanted to show me, so we went into his room. Thankfully, the girls had not entered the room or caused any more trouble for the rest of the night. Lucas reached underneath his bed and dragged out the dead body of a small creature.

“Is that…a Demogorgon?” I asked, hoping beyond hope that he’d say it was something else. Anything else.

“Yeah,” he responded, fear in his eyes. “It looks exactly like D’art. Don’t you think?”  
“I was afraid you’d say that” I responded. “It’s practically identical.”  
“I thought the gate was closed,” he said as he turned to me.

“It was,” I responded. “But I think it’s open again. This is bad. Really bad.” At that moment, I knew that the real danger had only begun.


End file.
